I like volunteering my time and energy for a worthy cause. Working in a hospital for a couple of hours a week would be great but hospitals are sad places and it brings back some bad memories so that would be out of the question for now.
Serving in a soup kitchen would be something I can really get into and it would be rewarding as well. It wouldn’t bring material benefits but that is not what volunteering is about. It is about giving your time freely and helping the needy. I think it would be a perfect fit and I would do that job for free gladly.
I find it elegant and oh so graceful. It’s incredible how they (the skaters) can glide over ice and do what they do with so much ease. I can spend hours watching them and I did try it, ice-skating, but I found out that I am a major klutz when it comes to skating along with other things!
I recall I was in Alabama at the time. A group of us went to a huge skating rink there. I had never skated before and at first I wanted to get out there but after a few falls I realized this sport wasn’t for me. Even with two people holding me, one on each side, I kept falling! It was embarrassing to say the least and I couldn’t wait to get out of the rink AND I saw my dreams of being a ice dancer go up in flames!
Watching the beautiful and graceful skaters do their thing as they move around the ice so effortlessly is mesmerizing. It is one sport I can spend hours watching AND live vicariously through them!
Daily writing prompt
What Olympic sports do you enjoy watching the most?
I would try adding inclusivity programs. The village is old and the people mostly set in their ways. They view all newcomers with suspicion. Most of them grew up here and have never left home. It is not only a village that embraces old worldviews and ideals but it is also steeped in tradition. Sometimes I think it is a village that time forgot, the old cobblestone streets hold secrets and a rich history is part and parcel of its makeup. The outside world is frightening and they view everyone who comes in from somewhere else with suspicion first and so people who dare to come in here have a hard time integrating and no matter how hard they try, it is a losing battle.
When I first came here, I was met with the same. However, it took learning the language and a smile each time I came across resistance to break through that wall. It is home to me now and the people see me as one of them but others are not so lucky. So I would start some kind of grassroots program bringing people together, a safe zone where they can learn about each other, experience the different kind of foods offered and try to break down that wall! The village is close-knit so it won’t be easy but where there is a will, there is a way as they say.
It came out of nowhere and kept us captive for a long long time. Things changed and life was all about that mask and those tests. I hated it but it was needed at the time.
I don’t remember much except that people were distrustful of each other and staying home was warranted. Life was a blur because I was going through something else. Something very emotional. A close friend was in the last stages of life and I remember how difficult it was to see him in the hospital. Hospital visits were not allowed. He was in ICU and I wasn’t allowed to visit. When he came out of it, visitations could only be made after a Covid test was done and you were pronounced Covid-free. I remember how frustrated I used to get about all the extra time needed to just make a hospital visit. This went on for several weeks and it drained me of energy.
Adapting to something that came out of nowhere and made the world pay attention required a certain mindset. It needed strength, resilience and a narrow-minded focus but I think more than that it required working together to beat this disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Mistrust was rife and a cough in the supermarket sent many running for cover, well, perhaps not running but they certainly kept their distance! Learning to cope within four walls was difficult for some but I mastered it like a champ. These days I am grateful when I walk into crowded spaces and don’t have to reach for my mask!
Daily writing prompt
How have you adapted to the changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic?
It used to be getting out of bed after stretching and cuddling with Chachi, the cat. Not in that order, but quite often it was a relaxing affair. Waking up, listening to the birds outside, snoozing, and kissing my little guy. That was back then!
Now, it is jumping out of bed because I have two cats waiting outside the door scratching and demanding attention! I have Chachi, my little guy, telling me that he is not too pleased with life at the moment, and stretching and listening to the birds have been relegated to never never land!
Life is stressful these days. There is a saying that goes something like this. You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, and that is how I am feeling right now. I would love to go back to those days when my morning ritual was one of utter relaxation and there was time to dream before getting the day started.
Maybe at some point in the future, I will return to those lazy days of stretching like a cat, having breakfast in bed, and making a plan for the day. Until then, I will have to make do with three rascals who think they run my world! Right now, they do.
Daily writing prompt
What are your morning rituals? What does the first hour of your day look like?
I could go with more but I’m going to stick to what I think makes a person unique.
Honesty
I place a lot of importance on honesty. It is hard to find because people tend to lie like there is no tomorrow! However, without honesty it is hard to trust someone and honesty is an essential component of a relationship where respect for the person comes into play in the form of honesty. You are unique if honesty is your stronghold.
Integrity
Without integrity there are no moral principles. Someone who does whatever he/she wants without moral principles is someone I try to avoid at all costs. A person with integrity has a strong moral code and tries to do the right thing and it is indeed a unique quality to have and to treasure.
Humility
I find this quality extremely attractive more than looks or stature in life. These people are usually very modest and do not think they are better than others. There is a certain kindness that shines through and they don’t mind getting their hands dirty. This is definitely a unique quality and one that is extremely attractive and makes the person stand out even more.
You’ve heard me talk about it, rave over it, and speak about the comfort and joy I get from it. I call it, “The Fields.” It is a stone’s throw away from the house and once there, I find peace and a sense of calm that invades my whole being. I don’t know why. It could be that I love open spaces and even though there is the mountain to one side and the forest on the other, however, in the middle and for as far as the eye can see, it is just open fields. I have a slight case of claustrophobia, it could just be in my mind, but when I am out there I can let my soul fly and calmness descends and surrounds me.
It is beautiful in any season. Each season brings something new to discover and each one brings forth its own unique kind of beauty. Winter is dark and grey but even then there is a certain charm that beckons and envelops me in its midst like I belong there. Spring is a glorious affair. The apple trees come into bloom and the air is scented with something sweet that goes wafting by as I walk past. The red, pink and white blossoms are gorgeous. Summer is when I stay away from the open fields and stick to the forest line. There is shade there but I can still look across at the open fields and see the bright blue skies and the fields wearing their summer green. Absolutely mesmerizing. Fall is when everything takes a step back and the fields prepare for their long-awaited rest. They’ve done their job and it is time to snooze.
I spend a lot of time there. Most days, I am out there enjoying the company of nature listening to the birds in the trees, watching the crows as they gather in the fields, and paying attention to the deer and the rabbits as they come out to play. Once I jokingly said to a friend, “When I die, I want my ashes to be strewn out there.” I can’t see myself being buried in a graveyard somewhere, I want to be free even in death!
He laughed and said, “Unfortunately, they don’t allow that kind of thing here.” There is a strict protocol as to how ashes can be dispersed and they stick to it! Oh well, a nice thought but an impossible one to achieve.
The next best thing is to have the fields named after me. “Tia’s Fields” It does have a nice ring to it. I think so anyway. Let’s see if that works out!
Daily writing prompt
If you could have something named after you, what would it be?
I would say a lot of things. I look for laughter everyday and it is an effort that I take seriously. It has been said, “laughter is the best medicine,” and I totally agree. A day without laughter in my world is like a day without sunshine. It is tinged with grey and something seems to be sorely lacking.
Seeking laughter is in my daily to-do list. Stand-up comedy is a good source. I love Max Amini and his brand of comedy. He always has me laughing and if that gets boring, I watch comedies which definitely does the trick and puts a sunshiny spin on my mood. Then there is the abundant supply of jokes out there that tickles my funny bone and I have posted some of them here. Not always funny to some but it is to me and that matters.
My most important laughter maker and stress buster is Chachi, the cat, aka Little Einstein. Not a day goes by without laughter from that angle. He doesn’t even have to do anything, just standing there with his front paws crossed has me breaking out in laughter. There is just something about the little guy that brings smiles and laughter in my direction. Perhaps it is called love, the unconditional kind. Whatever it is, I have found my perpetual source of laughter and it is of the happiness kind. He instigates it sometimes unknowingly but it does the trick and most days I wear a smile on my face having indulged in rip-roaring laughter. Laughter is there to be harvested if you just pay attention and decide to give it a chance. Try it, it is a beautiful thing and it gives stress a boot out the door!
I don’t think I had any big dreams way back then. Thinking about what I wanted to be was nowhere to be seen. I was given the freedom to be whatever I wanted to be when I was five.
Playing with my make-believe friends in the woods behind my home was something I relished. I didn’t know then what dangers could lurk out there in those dark woods, all I saw was the tremendous possibilities hidden in those dark corners and fantasy was in the making. Strange that back then I was fearless. When did fear step in? I don’t really know but it did at some point in time and decided to stay for a while.
Five was an age that was filled with magic. I talked to the ducks, the chickens, my pet rabbits, the trees, the flowers, and everything else in between! My days were filled with wonder and my best friends were the gnomes and little people living under every mushroom! The wild orchids growing way up high fascinated me and so did the rainbow-colored fish swimming in the streams.
I was a fairy or at least I thought I was. My head was filled with wondrous things and most days, I was humming in the woods and waiting for some new make-believe world to open up and to invite me in. I guess I got my first interest in nature at that time even though I didn’t know it then. It would be a lifelong love affair.
Coming back to your question, I had no clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. Perhaps, a fairy with glittering stardust around me and a wand in my hand granting wishes like there was no tomorrow! At that point in time, it was what I wanted to be.
I think it is that you have everything within you to overcome what life throws your way. We have this insane power within that goes untapped most times because our first line of defense when adversity strikes is to howl at the moon and cry, “Why me?” Sure it gets the frustration out at the time or it is a way of letting out steam but in the long run, it is nothing compared to going within to bring that undefeatable power to the forefront, the one that can slay dragons if you let it.
There is tremendous power and strength within and I have tapped into this potential only to find that it is limitless. It is not easy I agree because human nature is weak and we are complainers more than anything else but if we can just understand that there is an untapped potential within and it can be used to overcome whatever it is that seems impossible at first but if given time and a single-minded focus, it is doable. I’ve fallen flat on my face many times over but these days, I don’t stay there. I go within to find the answers and the strength to move on. Standing still in one place is not an option, not for long anyway but moving on is. It may sound like mumbo jumbo to some but you were built to survive anything that life throws your way and you are equipped to do just that.
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